Blanch Spinach By Boiling Your Kettle, Not A Pot Of Water

Prepping spinach and other greens — whether it’s for lasagne or to serve straight — usually involves boiling or blanching them in a pot of boiling water. This method from America’s Test Kitchen brings the water to the greens, not the greens to the water.

Blanching greens, or giving them a quick cook in hot water to cook them through and soften them, and then shocking them with cold water to stop the cooking process (so they don’t get mushy and keep their texture) is the best way to cook tender greens. Sitting around waiting for a pot of water to boil for a few seconds of cooking is no fun though. Instead, grab your kettle — electric or otherwise — and boil that instead.

When the water’s boiled, put your greens into a strainer or colander and pour the hot water over them. Then, rinse them down with cold water, as cold as you can get. That’s all there is to it. You save time, save water and your greens are just as delicious.

Spinach dip, lasagna, gratin—many recipes call for blanching spinach, and it means boiling a lot of water for a mere 30-second plunge. We speed things up with this tip. Boil 4-6 cups of water in a teakettle and place 1lb. of cleaned and stemmed spinach in a colander set in the sink. Pour the boiling water over the spinach in a steady stream to wilt. Quickly shock the spinach with cold running water, and squeeze out the excess moisture—then use as directed in the recipe. For more kitchen design inspiration, follow #KohlerIdeas and our sponsor @KohlerCo. Don’t forget to check out our latest release, #KitchenHacksBook, link clickable in our bio. ?#KohlerIdeas #Sponsored

A photo posted by America’s Test Kitchen (@testkitchen) on Dec 11, 2015 at 1:27pm PST

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